Overview & Reviews

Acura is an upscale automaker known for offering cars with impressive levels of luxury, features and performance. It's come a long way in a short time, however, as the history of Acura is relatively brief. Parent company Honda introduced the Acura brand to the U.S. market in 1986 in an effort to create a separate luxury division for its products. At first, it was just a two-car show: the Legend sedan, which was the first true Japanese luxury car sold in America, and the Integra sport coupe and sedan.

Though essentially a marketing creation for the North American market, the Acura brand was immediately successful. Consumers liked the features, performance and upscale image of Acura cars, along with the fact that Acuras were backed by Honda's reputation for reliability and low ownership costs. In 1991, Acura introduced its crown jewel: the all-aluminum NSX sports car, which offered performance close to that of other exotic cars while undercutting them in price.

As Acura's product line grew in the 1990s, however, the company struggled a bit. Some of its products were duds, and it risked alienating loyal customers when it replaced the Legend and Integra names with alphanumeric designations. The company jumped on the hot luxury SUV bandwagon in the mid-'90s with the SLX. Unfortunately, the SLX was just a rebadged version of an Isuzu SUV, and its quality did not match customers' expectations.

For the new millennium, Acura revamped its product range. An all-new SUV called the MDX debuted, sporting numerous family-friendly features, including a third-row seat. The Integra was replaced with the RSX sport coupe, and an all-new entry-level sport sedan called the TSX was introduced after that. A complete redesign of its most popular model, the midsize TL sedan, followed, as did a redesign of its flagship RL luxury sedan.

By mid-decade the NSX was gone, but Acura filled out its model lineup with the street-performance-oriented RDX compact crossover, the TSX wagon and the ZDX, a fastback-styled crossover that placed unique styling over practicality. Today Acura is still trying to find its ideal niche but there's no denying the quality of Acura's vehicles, nor their appealing mix of performance, technology and value.

User Reviews:

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  Worth the wait! - 2002 Acura MDX
  By Burbanlover - February 18 - 12:40 pm

  As my "alias" implies I drive a Suburban, while I traded my wifes 98 Discovery in for the new MDX. Although we waited for five months, the vehicle was worth it. Its road mannerisms are more car-like than an SUV but can accommodate more than four people (15 total when adding the Suburbans capacity). All joking aside, as a parent, I am increasingly discouraged by sedan manufactures turning rear seats into "buckets" reducing their effective capacity by one.

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  I love this car - 2006 Acura TL
  By Jeannine - February 17 - 6:16 am

  Its a nice looking smooth riding car. I looked at others in its class, but this was a lot more car for the money. Well worth it. A lot of good standard features in this car are extras on others. Love it.

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  RLX Understated Value - 2017 Acura RLX
  By Greg Moore - February 16 - 11:10 am

  This car is a understated value, Had a BMW prior to buying this car. This car is a lot quieter, rides better/smoother, has better visibility, and interior materials. The BMW hype is just that! I love this Acura RLX Advanced.

• 

  perfection - 2003 Acura RSX
  By big diesel - February 15 - 10:00 am

  ive been looking around for a new car for a year. I drove my primos wrx, it was fast but the interior was plain and i didnt like the gear box.tibron, please,..gti...not a chance..than i drove the type s...crisp six speed gear box, nice interior, good gas mlge, great price and of course dependable. It maybe a lil noisey, hey dudes its a sports car, not a cadillac..stop crying.

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  BAR NONE - 2003 Acura MDX
  By andyficomotors - February 15 - 10:00 am

  I have been driving a wide assortment of S.U.V.S This is the best one I have ever driven! This is smooth, powerful, sleek, and very roomey inside. Do not just drive it for 10 minutes before you buy one... take one home for an overnight use and really check one out...BAR NONE, THIS IS THE BEST. PERIOD

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  2016 TLX is awesome - 2016 Acura TLX
  By ADAMLSTLTLX - February 12 - 3:41 am

  This car is super sporty and loaded with safety. Were a family of 4 and this car is perfect for day to day. When solo, my foot is heavy.

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  So Far, Mostly Good - 2005 Acura TL
  By JG Lewis - February 11 - 3:10 pm

  My wife did the research on several cars in this class and decided this was the one. I had not even considered an Acura, and assumed she would select a BMW 325. The navigation system was a must have, and I admit it has been well worth the money. We traveled out of state weekend after we bought the car, typed in the location, and although it told us "we were no longer on a digitized road" (or something like that) directed us to our location. Performance is excellent. We have had trouble twice with electrical problems. The outside air temperature indication fails, followed buy "quirky" electrical issues. The dealer has resolved the issues. Look at an Acura, she already wants the SUV.

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  Better then the Avalon - 2006 Acura TL
  By Oleytwo - February 11 - 12:03 pm

  Drive 40K+ a year,drove them both, Avalon has a nice ride, Acura a little more firm, but more comfortable. Could not accept the Avalon interior and seats, like driving 1990 Buick. Acura is a notch above in quality and less $ then the Limited. Better value, lot more standard features and get 27- 28MPG.

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  It sucks. - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Sammyp - February 11 - 5:36 am

  It is pretty much the worse car Ive ever driven or riden in.

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  Excellent value in its class - 2009 Acura TSX
  By Anh Nguyen - February 11 - 4:20 am

  Some ask why I just didnt buy an Accord.. it wouldve been cheaper. After 4000 miles now in my TSX, I can tell them the TSX is definitely worth the extra few grand over the Accord. The ride is better, the materials and fit and finish is a notch above that of the Accord. And the Accord is just a little bit too big for me. Looked at competing products from Lexus, Audi, BMW, etc. and the TSX cannot be beaten in terms of value. Load up the others with the same options as in the TSX and you can expect to pay much more.